Let’s enjoy Koushuben (Yamanashi dialect) vol.1

Since Mt.Fuji was officially registered as a World Heritage site on June 26, 2013, lots of foreign travelers have been visiting Yamanshi prefecture and Mt.Fuji. According to report from Yamanashi-prefecture official, numbers of foreign visitors to Yamanashi prefecture gained 34.5% in 2014 comparing to 2013.

Some visitors may speak fluent Japanese and have noticed Yamanashi dialect or confused by what Yamanashi people are saying. So, I will introduce Koshuben(Yamanashi-prefecture dialect) on this blog with linguistic point of views, and I hope it will be helpful for the visitors who are planning to travel to Yamanashi-prefecture.

I think this dialect can be understood, but sounds very strange for the non-Yamanashi dialect speakers. However, “Toru(dictionary form of /tor/)” means “to pick up” and also “take (a photo)”. If you are in a situation asked “where is your pictures?” (you forgot to bring), then you would say “Sorry, I will get it from home”. In standard Japanese, “Tori ni iku” would be used, but in this context, the hearer might get confused because you are saying “go to get it from somewhere or go to take a photo”. In Yamanashi dialect, “mochi ni iku” causes no confusion to hearer that you mean “go to get it from somewhere”.